TW: transphobia, homophobia, slurs, abuse/unhealthy relationships, mentions of suicides

I'm gonna go hug my unconventional family and cry now. This book... It was hard, but so validating. I wish more exploration went to Ames towards the ending, but it nailed so much other self-exploration of both personal and intersocial family/relationships.

CW: ableism (name calling and internalised ableism), trope that disability is cured through love, parents hitting children, famine, death of a parent

Overall, a charming and sincere read about a family that loves each other deeply. I loved the example of how family love can be strong and pure even without blood ties.

CW: infant death/murder, car wreck

My first foray into horror for younger audiences, and I was not disappointed. Creepy enough to make even adults squirm! The overarching story tying the seperate chapters together set it apart.

A good first step in learning more about Matariki, the Māori new year. So much of the history of it is lost to time, so it is an honour to read any and all about it.

CW: death, blood, parental avusemtrauma

My HEART. This is definitly one of my all time favourite books, with fantasy, action, adventure, and so much LOVE, (Akeha x Yongcheow is my EVERYTHING). One of the BEST queer fantasies I've read.

TW: Examples of transgender oppression, examples of transphobia, murder and death statistics of trans folks, suicide.

(This review is coming from a white non-binary person.)

This was a very short and quick read, one I think appropriate for younger readers as well as any older readers very new to the subject. I would happily suggest to kids, especially to parents to use as a jumping off point for discussions.

The author makes a note of transparency that she is a white, middle class, cisgender woman, and so apologises for any mistakes in the text. I'm ALWAYS hesitant when a cisgender person decides to write about the trans experience, but I can say I was actually quite pleased with this book.

Topics it covered where; what is the difference between sex and gender; the transitioning experience; healthcare and oppression trans folk face; and a very, very good (very very short) guide on how to help trans folk. All of these topics were covered quickly, so not as much detail as I personally would like, but enough to not bog down the inexperienced person.

I had some slight critiques of the text. Mostly that, though she mentions it later, a lot of history she focuses on is put as "US history" when she really means post colonial US history, and the author does take note of intersectionality, though it's not focused on as much as it should be.

Sometimes the unneeded addition of "identifies as" is used.

At one point I had a little laugh in the section of the pronouns"They/Them" (which I use). The example was to say "They is speaking". Personally use "They are speaking". I've never met another they/them user who uses "They is...".

TW: R-slur, ableism, animal violance and cruelty, racism, infidelity.

I really liked the premise of this book, and it's a really good one given our current day and age, but overall the style and execution was not for me.

CW: blood (of course!) , bullying

A much needed middle grade graphic novel about periods! I wish there was a bit more actual how-to guides when it came to period education, but I really loved the inclusion of trans men and non binary folks in the advocacy!